Man arrested after pregnant woman stabbed; fetus dead

WALKER (AP) — A man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed his 28-year-old pregnant wife in the abdomen and cut the
unborn baby out of her, the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office said.

Sheriff Jason Ard said the woman survived the attack, but the baby died despite efforts by emergency medical technicians to
revive it. The woman, whose name has not been released, was about 7 ½ months pregnant. She was listed in stable condition
at an area hospital, Ard said.

"It was a very gruesome scene that our deputies are dealing with," Ard said.

Ard said deputies responded to an emergency call at the couple's home at about 11:15 a.m. When they arrived, they found Jeffrey
Reynolds, 31, still on the scene.

"He had cut his wife's stomach open and pulled the unborn baby out," the sheriff said. "He was very combative and it was a
struggle for deputies to get him into custody."

Once in custody, Reynolds was taken to an area hospital for blood tests and other routine testing, Ard said. Investigators
were still processing the scene and had not yet discovered the device used in the attack, he said.

"We know it was some kind of sharp instrument," he added.

The couple has at least one other child, who was in school at the time of the attack, the sheriff said.